# Eldon Griffiths

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{{Short description|British politician and journalist (1925-2014)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=August 2016}}
{{Use British English|date=August 2016}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| image = File:Sir_Eldon_Griffiths.jpeg
| honorific_prefix = 
| name = Sir Eldon Griffiths
| honorific_suffix = 
| office = [Minister for Sport](/source/Minister_for_Sport_and_Civil_Society)
| parliament = 
| majority = 
| predecessor = [Denis Howell](/source/Denis_Howell)
| successor = [Denis Howell](/source/Denis_Howell)
| term_start = 19 June 1970
| term_end = 4 March 1974
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1925|05|25|df=yes}}
| birth_place = [Wigan](/source/Wigan), [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire), England
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2014|06|03|1925|05|25|df=yes}}
| death_place = 
| spouse = {{marriage|Sigrid Gante|1949|1985|reason=divorced}}<br />{{marriage|Betty Stannard|1985|2010|reason=died}}<ref name="WW">{{Who's Who | title = GRIFFITHS, Sir Eldon (Wylie) | id = U18239 | type = was | volume = 2024 | edition = online}}</ref><br />{{marriage|Susan Donnell|2013}}<ref name="obit - Guardian"/>
| party = [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK))
| relations = 
| children = 2, including [John Griffiths](/source/John_Griffiths_(Conservative_politician))
| alma_mater = [Emmanuel College, Cambridge](/source/Emmanuel_College%2C_Cambridge)
| occupation = 
| profession = Journalist and farmer
| term_start1 = 14 May 1964
| term_end1 = 16 March 1992
| predecessor1 = [William Traven Aitken](/source/William_Aitken_(politician))
| successor1 = [Richard Spring](/source/Richard_Spring%2C_Baron_Risby)
| office1 = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom))<br />for [Bury St Edmunds](/source/Bury_St_Edmunds_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
| prime_minister = [Edward Heath](/source/Edward_Heath)
}}

'''Sir Eldon Wylie Griffiths''' (25 May 1925 – 3 June 2014) was a British [Conservative](/source/Conservative_Party_(UK)) politician and journalist.

==Early life==
Griffiths was born on 25 May 1925 in [Wigan](/source/Wigan), [Lancashire](/source/Lancashire).<ref name="obit - Guardian">{{cite news|last1=Langdon|first1=Julia|title=Sir Eldon Griffiths obituary|url=https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2014/jun/04/sir-eldon-griffiths|accessdate=14 June 2014|work=The Guardian|date=4 June 2014}}</ref> His [Welsh](/source/Wales) father was a police sergeant. He attended [Ashton-under-Lyne Grammar School](/source/Ashton_Sixth_Form_College).<ref name="obit - Guardian"/> Following the [Second World War](/source/World_War_II) service in the [Royal Air Force](/source/Royal_Air_Force) he gained a double first class degree in history from [Emmanuel College, Cambridge](/source/Emmanuel_College%2C_Cambridge), and an MA from [Yale University](/source/Yale_University).<ref name=telegraph>[https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/10872932/Sir-Eldon-Griffiths-obituary.html Eldon Griffiths Obituary in the Daily Telegraph]. Retrieved 4 June 2014</ref><ref name="obit - Guardian"/>

==Career==

===Journalism===
After university Griffiths worked in the [Conservative Research Department](/source/Conservative_Research_Department) and became a journalist and farmer. He was on staff of US magazine ''[Newsweek](/source/Newsweek)'',<ref name="obit - Guardian"/> as managing editor.{{cn|date=September 2025}}

===Political career===
He became the MP for [Bury St Edmunds](/source/Bury_St_Edmunds_(UK_Parliament_constituency)) after a [by-election in 1964](/source/1964_Bury_St_Edmunds_by-election), and represented the seat until he retired in 1992. His ''[Daily Telegraph](/source/Daily_Telegraph)'' obituary claimed he was "rangy, articulate, but dour... a political loner, and not over-popular on the Tory benches." However, it listed many achievements as MP and in other spheres.<ref>Daily Telegraph, London 4 June 2014</ref> He served as [Minister for Sport](/source/Minister_for_Sport_and_Civil_Society) during the [Edward Heath](/source/Edward_Heath) government of 1970 to 1974. He also served as parliamentary spokesman for the [Police Federation](/source/Police_Federation_of_England_and_Wales). In 1985, he was made a [Knight Bachelor](/source/Knight_Bachelor) for "political service".<ref name="LG 15 June 1985">{{London Gazette |issue=50154 |date=15 June 1985 |page=1 |supp=y }}</ref>

===Academia===
For a brief period while an MP, Griffiths worked as a professor at the [University of California, Irvine](/source/University_of_California%2C_Irvine),<ref name="WW"/> a role in which ''[The Times](/source/The_Times)'' said led to him being called the member for [Orange County](/source/Orange_County%2C_California).<ref>{{cite news |title=Times Diary |url=https://www.thetimes.com/article/2f9473dc-41a3-11ec-96bf-de0821791f3f |work=The Times |access-date=17 November 2021|last1=Kidd |first1=Patrick }}</ref>

===Director appointments===
Griffiths was a director of one of [Gerald Carroll](/source/Gerald_Carroll)'s [Carroll Group](/source/Carroll_Group) companies.<ref name=sunbus>"SFO looks at 500m fall of Carroll empire", Dominic O'Connell, ''[Sunday Business](/source/Sunday_Business)'', 1 October 2000, p. 1.</ref>

==Personal life==
In June 2013, aged 88, he announced his third marriage, to Susan Donnell.<ref>[http://www.buryfreepress.co.uk/news/latest-news/former-mp-of-bury-st-edmunds-to-marry-for-third-time-at-the-age-of-88-1-5183204 Former MP of Bury St Edmunds to marry for third time at the age of 88], Bury Free Press. Accessed 18 January 2023.</ref>

==Honours==
He was a Freeman of the borough of [St Edmundsbury](/source/Borough_of_St_Edmundsbury).

==References==
{{reflist}}
*''The Times Guide to the House of Commons'', [Times Newspapers Ltd](/source/The_Times), 1966 & 1987
*{{Rayment-hc|date=March 2012}}

== External links ==
* {{Hansard-contribs | mr-eldon-griffiths | Eldon Griffiths }}

{{S-start}}
{{s-par|uk}}
{{succession box
  | title  = [Member of Parliament](/source/Member_of_Parliament_(United_Kingdom)) for [Bury St Edmunds](/source/Bury_St_Edmunds_(UK_Parliament_constituency))
  | years  = [1964](/source/1964_Bury_St_Edmunds_by-election)–[1992](/source/1992_United_Kingdom_general_election)
  | before = [William Aitken](/source/William_Aitken_(politician))
  | after  = [Richard Spring](/source/Richard_Spring%2C_Baron_Risby)
}}
{{s-off}}
{{succession box | before=[Denis Howell](/source/Denis_Howell) | title=[Minister for Sport](/source/Minister_for_Sport_and_Tourism) | years=1970–1974 | after=[Denis Howell](/source/Denis_Howell)}}
{{S-end}}

{{Ministers for Sport}}

{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Griffiths, Eldon}}
Category:1925 births
Category:2014 deaths
Category:People educated at Ashton-under-Lyne Grammar School
Category:Alumni of Emmanuel College, Cambridge
Category:Yale University alumni
Category:Conservative Party (UK) MPs for English constituencies
Category:Government ministers of the United Kingdom
Category:Knights Bachelor
Category:UK MPs 1959–1964
Category:UK MPs 1964–1966
Category:UK MPs 1966–1970
Category:UK MPs 1970–1974
Category:UK MPs 1974
Category:UK MPs 1974–1979
Category:UK MPs 1979–1983
Category:UK MPs 1983–1987
Category:UK MPs 1987–1992
Category:Royal Air Force personnel of World War II

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Eldon Griffiths](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldon_Griffiths) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eldon_Griffiths?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.